


what makes house a home

by ahtohallan_calling



Series: coworkers au [3]
Category: Frozen (Disney Movies)
Genre: Angst, Coworkers AU, Emotional Hurt/Comfort, F/M, Fluff, Infertility, Modern AU, Relationship Problems, Smut, don't keep reading the tags if you want to get spoiled theyre just there as tw
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-04-29
Updated: 2020-05-18
Packaged: 2021-03-01 18:42:31
Rating: Mature
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 10
Words: 8,230
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/23901784
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/ahtohallan_calling/pseuds/ahtohallan_calling
Summary: After three years of bickering and two years of being together and one year of marriage, Anna and Kristoff are finally taking steps to move permanently to the beach, leave the workplace where they met behind, and start a family.If only plans ever did something besides go awry.
Relationships: Anna/Kristoff (Disney)
Series: coworkers au [3]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/1711594
Comments: 45
Kudos: 75





	1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note:**

> okay SO this was going to be a long one shot but then i realized it would be a very very VERY long one shot and also that it's more fun to make y'all suffer a little more along the way
> 
> this is ofc the same sweet anna and Kristoff from coworkers au but not everything in life can go as smoothly as their beach trip so here's their "what comes after"
> 
> set two years after the original fic, I'll try to sneak in some flashbacks of their wedding etc or at least drabble it on the way

“God, it’s really not much to look at, is it?” Anna asked as she leaned her head against Kristoff’s shoulder and admired the  _ Just Sold! _ sign.

He slid his arm around her waist, pulling her closer to his side. “Not yet. We’ll fix it up.”

“Think we can get it as nice as the old one?”

He leaned down and kissed the top of her head. “Nicer, even. Last time it was just me and Pop working on it. But now it’ll have a woman’s touch.”

She laughed at that and turned to hug him around the waist. “You say that as if I have the faintest idea of how to do things like this.”

“I’ll teach you,” he promised. “But I can tell you’ll be a natural.”

“You’re just saying that so I’ll kiss you.”

“Is it working?”

She smiled and leaned up on her toes. “You tell me.”

* * *

It wasn’t really goodbye to the old house, not yet; the one on the beach was still more of a shack than an idyllic little cottage, and it’d be months before it was habitable for more than a day or two at a time. For now the plan was for both of them to go down on weekends and work as much as they could; Kristoff was staying on a little longer at Westergaard and Sons, while Anna’s two weeks’ notice had just come to an end. The plan was for her to go back and forth more often to deal with contractors doing the work Kristoff didn’t trust himself with and freelance in her spare time. Already she knew she would ache for him on the nights they were apart; even the time he’d gotten horrendous food poisoning and spent the whole night on the bathroom floor, she’d insisted on being beside him, had dragged in a beach towel and a pillow and curled up next to him.

But tonight there were better things to focus on, like the flex of his biceps as he knelt over her on the air mattress and tugged off his shirt. Anna ran her hands appreciatively up and down the sides of his thighs. “Yeah, baby, take it all off,” she teased, sitting up so she could reach around and slap his ass, and he huffed out a laugh, blushing the way she loved, all the way down to his chest.

She was already naked beneath him, still flushed and sweaty from the way he’d put his mouth to her and spelled out his name until she screamed it for him, and so without her own clothes to fumble with she tugged down the zipper of his jeans. Even that much contact had him hissing, his hips bucking involuntarily forward; they’d been too busy the last few days to have time for this.

He pulled away from her only long enough to shuffle off his clothes, and then he was hovering over her again, the mattress wobbling precariously beneath their combined weight. Anna wrapped a practiced hand around his cock, moving it the way that always made him shudder, and asked, “Are you sure the box said it can take two people on it?”

“Yes,” he managed to get out as he propped himself up on his elbows.

“Are you sure? Because it’d be a real mood-killer if it just popped underneath us.”

He kissed the tip of her nose. “It won’t.”

“But what if it--”

“ _ Anna _ ,” he groaned as the tip of her thumb slid over the head of his cock, “baby, you gotta quit doing that before I-- I--”

“The questions?” she asked sweetly, “or…”

“ _ Fuck _ ,” he hissed as she swiped her thumb again. “You drive me fucking crazy.”

She laughed softly as she raised her hips up for him, though it faded quickly into a low moan as he slid into her. “I love you,” she said, wrapping her legs around him so he hit that spot deep within her, sending quakes of pleasure throughout her entire body. “More than anything in the world.”

He kissed her, already beyond words as he began to pick up speed, his thumb pressing in  _ just _ the right spot, and she closed her eyes and relished the feeling of him filling her, thinking about the conversation they’d had a few weeks ago as they’d laid out on a blanket in the field watching the stars,  _ we’ve been married a year, so-- _

_ Yes, I’ve been thinking the same-- _

_ Have you really? _

_ Of course, I always wanted to, you know that-- _

_ Oh, me too. _

_ So that’s it, then? We’re trying? _

_ Well, we’re certainly not  _ not _ trying. _

“I love you,” she said again as he pressed his lips to her neck, his breath coming in short pants as his hips began to stutter against her, “I love you, baby, come for me, Kris--”

He did at the sound of his name, and the feeling of his release filling her was enough for Anna to follow him over the edge with a gasp of pleasure, her limbs tightening around him as they both fought to catch their breath.

He shifted to brush the tip of his nose against hers before pressing their foreheads together. “I love you, too,” he croaked, and she smiled and kissed him again.

* * *

“Maybe you can just call in sick tomorrow,” Anna asked tearfully, her face buried in the crook of his neck.

Fuck, if this was how it was going to be every Sunday afternoon, it was going to kill him. 

He lifted her slightly from where she sat beside him on the air mattress to pull her onto his lap and pressed his lips to her forehead. “Honey, if I do this time, then you’re going to want me to do it every week.”

“Maybe I can go back up with you and then come back down tomorrow morning to talk to the guy and then back at night and then--”

“He’s going to be here at nine. You wouldn’t even have time to sleep. And then you’d have to do the same thing over on Tuesday to talk to the termite guy.”

“But I’d get to be with you,” she hiccuped, and it felt something like getting stabbed.

“We knew this was going to be hard going in, Anna,” he said, stroking her hair back from her tear-sticky cheek and tucking it behind her ear. “But it’ll be worth it in the end. We’ll have a fixed-up house on the beach, and by then we’ll both have said a big ‘fuck you’ to that rat bastard, and we won’t have to be apart again.”

_ And maybe there’ll be three of us by then _ , he thought, not daring to say it out loud.

She sniffled and wrapped her arms around his waist. “I don’t know how to sleep without you anymore.”

“Me, either. But I’ll FaceTime you tonight ‘til you do fall asleep, and that’ll be close enough for now.”

“Will you call me while you’re driving home, too?”

“If you promise you’re not going to get tired of the sound of my voice,” he said, half expecting her to tease him the way she still did two years later.

“I could never,” she whispered. “You’re my favorite person in the whole world, Kris.”

And god, that somehow hurt worst of all, hearing her say that for the first time.


	2. Chapter 2

By ten on Monday morning, he was so fucking desperate for a piece of her he bought himself a pack of M&Ms from the vending machine. He managed to get a mouthful down before grimacing and shoving them in the top drawer of his desk. 

He waited until she texted him that the contractor was gone before taking his lunch break, grabbing a protein bar from his desk drawer and making a beeline for the parking lot. The second he slammed the door of his truck behind him he FaceTimed her, and she picked up on the first ring.

“Hey, baby,” his voice gruffer than he’d expected.

“I miss you,” she said without preamble.

_ Keep it together,  _ he reminded himself, and forced a crooked smile to appear. “Really? Aren’t you the one who’s always saying you’re tired of me leaving my dirty socks on the floor?”

His heart constricted at the sound of her laugh. “What I wouldn’t give a few of those to pick up now. What are you having for lunch?”

“Protein bar.”

“That’s not a real lunch.” She narrowed her eyes. “Take a bite of it.”

“What? Why?”

“Because I know what you’re like when you’re mopey, and a protein bar is better than nothing.”

“Jesus, woman, you’re still going to boss me around even when there’s two hundred miles between us?”

“Yup,” she said, popping her lips on the P. “I’ll boss you around no matter how far apart we are.”

“What would I do without you, huh?” he asked softly, and meant it.

* * *

“How fast are you driving right now, Anna?”

She took her foot off the gas. “The speed limit.”

“You hesitated.”

“Would you rather I kept going ninety and lied to you?”

“ _ You were going ninety miles an hour? _ ”

“Kris, honey, do you really think I’m  _ that _ irresponsible? Wait, don’t answer that.”

He chuckled. “I know you’re not.”

“Right answer. I was only doing eighty.”

“This is why I’m the one who drives on road trips.”

“And why they always take too long.” She was quiet for a moment, chewing on her bottom lip. “Wish you were here right now, though. Even if it meant going thirty-five all the way up the interstate.”

“How much longer do you have?”

Anna grinned as she turned onto the two-lane highway that would have her home in ten minutes. “Oh, about an hour or so.”

She almost regretted it when he said, “Oh,” his disappointment palpable.

“But the time’ll fly by. Sorry, honey, just...you know, got caught up with the termite guy.”

“Yeah?” She could hear the banging of pots and pans and smiled; usually they cooked together, but she had a feeling he was trying to do something special tonight. “What did he say?”

“Just that it’s only the damage in the basement, and no active infestation or anything.”

“Oh, thank god. My uncle specializes in that, I’ll ask him for help if we need.”

“I thought your uncle was a plumber?”

“I’ve got six.”

Anna whistled as she turned onto the gravel road that led to their house. “Why haven’t you taken me to more family reunions? I bet the food’s  _ amazing _ .”

“They’re handymen and contractors, honey, not chefs. They usually order barbecue.”

“My point still stands,” she said as she pulled to a stop outside of the house, closing the car door as quietly as she could as she got out. “Anyway, if I was there right now, what would you do to me?”

“ _ Jesus _ , Anna,” he muttered; she bit back a laugh as she heard the clatter of a lid being dropped coming from the open window and her phone. “I know you’re bored driving, but I don’t want to distract you  _ that _ much.”

“Well, that’s a shame,” she said as she swung the door open.

For a moment there was dead silence, and then she heard the clack of the phone dropping on the counter, and a moment later he was there in the entryway, hugging her so tightly her feet left the ground.

“Surprise!” she laughed, flinging her arms around his neck and plastering his face with kisses.

“You’re awful,” he chastised her, even as he lowered her back to the ground and combed his fingers through her hair, cupping the back of her head in his hands. “Making me think I’d be waiting a whole ‘nother hour for this.”

“Worth it for a welcome home like this,” she said, brushing the tip of her nose against his.

“You think I wouldn’t have been this excited anyway?” 

“I can leave and come back again so we can find out.”

“No,” he breathed, “don’t you dare.”

He kissed her then, and for the first time in two and a half days, she felt like she could breathe.

* * *

“We could do this, you know,” Anna said as she tossed another piece of popcorn into her mouth.

Kristoff didn’t bother looking away from the TV screen. “Do what?”

She rolled her eyes and tickled his foot where it was resting on her lap until he yelped and looked at her. “Renovate houses on TV.”

“Weren’t you just telling me you were clueless about this and you’re gonna just stand around and watch me do the work?”

“Exactly, that’s why it’s perfect for us. You get all sweaty lifting heavy things around, and I’ll do a couple of nails and flirt with you.”

“Let’s just finish our house first and see how it goes,” he replied, giving her a lazy wink. “Besides, I don’t know if I want the rest of the world to see how hot my wife is. Might be harder to keep you around.”

“Please. You’re the one with the biceps and the abs and the massive cock.”

“Somehow, I don’t think that part would actually end up on the show.”

As the show switched to a commercial break, Anna set the popcorn bowl on the coffee table and stretched before moving from her end of the sofa to lay half on top of him, sliding her knee between his thighs and nestling her face against the crook of his neck. “Wanna fool around?” she murmured, already trailing a line of wet kisses against his skin.

“Again?  _ Already? _ ” he teased, setting one hand on the curve of her ass and giving it a gentle squeeze.

She pressed closer against him as she reached the sensitive spot behind his ear. “Mhmm. Making up for lost time.”

“It was two days, baby.”

“God, I  _ know, _ ” she groaned, brushing a kiss against the stubble on his jaw. “Fucking  _ torture _ .”

She slid a hand up under the hem of his t-shirt as he sat up slightly against the arm of the sofa; a noise of contentment escaped him at the feel of her fingers pressed up against his bare skin. He kissed the tip of her nose and said, “Let’s make it fast, though, I want to see how much the renovations end up costing them.”

“We can pause the TV, you know,” Anna pointed out as he pulled her closer against him, slotting their hips together. 

“We could, but our hands are kind of full right now,” he replied, squeezing her ass again for emphasis.

“Fine,” she said, rolling her eyes as she sat up and pulled her t-shirt off in a practiced move, “but if you can’t get me to come before the commercial break is over, you owe me one later.”

He nipped at her bottom lip. “Is that a challenge?”

She smirked against his mouth. “You betcha.”


	3. Chapter 3

“Anna?” he called as he came through the door, pizza box in hand. “I brought dinner.”

He listened for a reply, but none came. He set the pizza on the counter and headed towards the back of the house. A smirk slid onto his face as he stepped into the hallway and heard the rush of the shower. He drew closer, already pulling at his buttons; it had been too long since he’d surprised her.

Another noise rose above the pounding of the water, and he stopped in his tracks. He waited for a moment, his heart pounding, and then he heard it again: the distinct sound of a sob. Worried, he peered around the open bathroom door, intending to call her name again and ask what was wrong, but his eyes landed on an empty pregnancy test box on the counter.

He liked to think that over the past year he’d become a capable husband in most regards, and that over the past three he’d become an expert on all things Anna, but today-- today he looked at the box and listened to her crying as if her heart had been torn from her chest and felt an ache in his own that he was frightened to put a name to.

For perhaps the first time since he had known her, he was at a loss for words, and so he retreated to the kitchen and did the dishes and tried to forget he’d seen anything at all.

* * *

Anna nestled closer to Kristoff’s chest, closing her eyes contentedly as his arm settled over her back. They were back on the air mattress again, trying to make the most of it, but she knew that it’d only worsen their aches tomorrow after the hours they’d spent pulling up the carpet in the master bedroom and then helping one of Kristoff’s myriad uncles restore the wood underneath.

It had been two days since she’d taken the test, and still she hadn’t told him. She’d gone back and forth on it a thousand times in her mind, had found herself making silly mistakes ever since when her mind drifted off and lingered on it. 

It wasn’t that she expected him to be angry about her doing it, or even not telling him, but something about putting voice to her disappointment would make it more real than she felt quite ready for. And anyway, now it was too late, and it’d only ruin her last night with him--  _ four days _ this time, just her and his uncle and a stream of contractors and their quotes.

And it didn’t matter, anyway, if they weren’t really trying, did it? No expectation, no hopes-- nothing to be disappointed over.

Kristoff’s hand skimmed idly up and down her back, and a faint sigh escaped her. They were both too exhausted to do more than kiss, but she knew it was the little touches like this that she’d miss the most anyway, the same ones that had been part of the foundation of their relationship from the start.

She fumbled in the darkness for his other hand and gave it a squeeze. “I love you so much, Kris,” she said softly.

He craned his neck to kiss the top of her head. “I know,” he said softly, and something about it struck her as odd, but before she had time to consider why, he was moving beneath her, brushing against the waistband of her sweatpants with a questioning touch, and she decided perhaps she wasn’t too tired after all.

* * *

A familiar pair of heels came clicking down the hallway before coming to a stop beside his desk. He didn’t bother looking up from his spreadsheet as he said, “Hey, Elsa. What brings you all the way to the fifth floor?”

She put a hand on his shoulder, and he stiffened; unlike her sister, she saved even the most casual of touches for serious occasions. “I need to let you know something.”

He slowly dragged his gaze upward to land on her face. Her normally neutral expression was pulled into a deep frown. “Am I about to get fired?” he asked, the words spilling forward before he even had a chance to consider them.

He’d never seen her eyes look like that, and somehow he knew that whatever she was about to say was worse. “No,” she said quietly. “But they’re looking to fill Anna’s position. They want you to help interview her replacement since you guys will be working as a team.”

He swallowed hard. Their positions had been entirely separate before they’d given the presentation at the beach, and it was because of  _ them _ , because of their partnership and their work and their-- their  _ everything _ that now they were a team.

Except they weren’t anymore, were they? Not when the chair next to him was empty, and apparently it was his job to help fill it.

He turned back to his spreadsheet, keeping his voice steady. “Okay.”


	4. Chapter 4

Somehow, it was already week six, and yet by the amount of progress they’d made it seemed no time had passed at all.

“I don’t know, Kris,” Anna said, biting at a hangnail as she held the phone up to her ear. “I don’t know if he’s trying to rip me off or not. Your uncle’s not answering his phone, and I’m still learning this stuff.”

She heard him sigh heavily and winced, wondering how much of his frustration was with the situation and how much was with her. “Okay. Just-- just send me pictures, and I’ll look at them on my lunch break. I’m really busy today.”

“Oh, shit, sorry,” Anna said quickly, her cheeks reddening. “I didn’t mean to bother you.”

She could hear the frown in his voice as he spoke again. “You’re not bothering me, baby. I can always make time for you. I needed a bathroom break anyway.”

A tiny smile began tugging at the corner of her lips. “Good. Because I’ve been meaning to ask you--”

“ _ Shit _ . Greg just came in the bathroom looking for me, I--  _ yeah, Greg, just a sec _ \-- I’ll call you after work loveyoubye!”

“Bye,” she whispered, doing her best to push back the sudden tide of warmth in her eyes.

* * *

“Maybe,” Anna said morosely as they sat together on the tailgate of his truck, “maybe we should just stop even kind of trying. I mean, with everything going wrong with the house and my freelance stuff being so sporadic...maybe it’s just not the right time, you know?”

He nodded in reply, a sense of dread already pooling in his stomach. “Maybe. But it’s whatever you want to do.”

Anna pursed her lips. “What do  _ you  _ want, Kris?”

He thought of sweeping her off her feet and whooping for joy, of how it’d feel to hold her close against him at night and feel those first little nudges against his palm, of how she’d look standing on the porch of the beach house pointing to the waves as she held a red-haired infant and taught her the name of the ocean.

And then he thought of how she’d wept in the shower, of seeing how month after month of disappointment would wear new grooves in her heart, of a room they would never quite bear to think of furnishing.

He cleared his throat. “I just want you to be happy.”

The corners of her mouth turned downwards. “That’s not a real answer.”

The answers she was searching for were ones he couldn’t give, the whys and the whens and the if evers, and so instead he shrugged and looked away.

“The stars are really pretty tonight,” he said, putting an arm around her shoulders.

She didn’t lean closer, didn’t turn and kiss his cheek, didn’t move at all. “Yeah,” she said, and neither of them spoke again.

* * *

_ Kristoff, _

_ We’ve narrowed down the initial set of candidates. Would you mind looking at the attached resumes and letting me know if any stand out? We’re hoping to start the first round of interviews at the end of next week. _

_ Thanks, _

_ Melissa _

_ PS-- Give Anna my love! _

For a long moment he just stared at the email, the reality of the situation creeping slowly up over him like a cold sweat trickling down his spine.

His gaze drifted over to the picture frame beside his monitor, to the photo of Anna with flowers in her hair and her gauzy white skirt barely brushing against the grass as she leaned up on her toes to kiss him.

He closed the email without even bothering to glance at the attachments.

  
  
  



	5. Chapter 5

The last couple of years, Kristoff had taken the day off for his birthday, but there wasn’t really a point to it this year, not when no one would be around to celebrate it with him until that night. And the work was a good distraction from the waiting, really, or at least it was until someone not-so-casually stood by his desk until he grudgingly scanned through the resumes and picked five that weren’t  _ total _ shit.

He practically stomped down the stairs on the way to his car, muttering under his breath as he fumbled for the phone in his pocket so he and Anna could have their daily FaceTime lunch break. 

And then he turned a corner and nearly skidded to a halt at the sight of her smirking and leaning up against the cab of his truck. 

“I brought you lunch,” she said, holding up a plastic bag from their favorite Italian place. “Lasagna okay?”

A moment later she was laughing and setting the bag down on the hood of the truck as he swept her up into a hug so tight her feet left the ground. “I love you so much,” he said, his voice suddenly tight in his throat. 

She smiled as she planted a kiss against his cheek. “Happy birthday, baby.”

* * *

It was a good thing they hadn’t bothered putting their pajamas back on last night; it meant that only two minutes after waking up, Kristoff was already nudging his knee between her thighs as she pressed a series of long, lingering kisses against his throat. “I love you,” she breathed as his hand came to settle on her hip, “I--”

She was cut off by Kristoff’s phone starting to ring. Rolling her eyes, she fumbled to grab it from the nightstand. “It’s my sister.”

“Just let it go to voicemail.”

“She knows I’m up here. It must be important.”

Kristoff groaned and flopped onto his back as Anna laughed and set the phone in his palm. She took a moment to stretch as he said, “Hey, Elsa, what’s up?”

“ _ Thanks for looking at those resumes for us _ ,” she heard her sister say through the phone. 

Kristoff went stiff beside her. “No problem. Anyway--”

“ _ I know it was hard, seriously, I miss her too, but Harry was starting to talk about calling you in and- _ -”

“Gotta go,” he said quickly, ending the call.

“What was that about?” Anna asked, trying to keep her voice light.

“Nothing,” he said, rolling onto his side and putting a hand on her hip. “Ready to pick up where we left off?”

“It didn’t sound like nothing.”

He sighed. “It’s just-- work stuff. Wanting me to help pick your replacement.”

Anna bit her lower lip; if he was dragging his heels because he was upset about this, enough that  _ Harry _ was getting involved, they really ought to talk about it, but by the way his fingers were skimming up and down her skin, she knew talking was the last thing on his mind.

And it was only one day after his birthday, and she’d been missing him, and if they were wanting to have a baby--

“Kiss me?” she breathed, hooking her leg over his hips, and he gladly complied.

* * *

This time when she left, it was as bad as the first time-- worse, even, he thought, because she was crying so much he was scared it might not be safe for her to drive home. She’d stayed for nearly a week this time, but being able to do that meant that she’d put off visits with contractors and his uncles and video calls about her freelance gigs until  _ this _ week, which meant he wouldn’t see her until the weekend and--

“I’m gonna miss you so much,” she sobbed. “This week has been so good, and-- and now-- now I’m scared--”

He swallowed hard and tightened his arms around her; he knew they were afraid of the same thing, that this week had been the least tense between them in, shit, two and a half months now? “It’ll be okay, baby,” he promised, kissing her forehead. 

She leaned her forehead against his shoulder, trying to catch her breath. “It’s just,” she choked out, “it’s just-- we’ve gotten so good at being  _ together _ , that I just-- I think we don’t know how to be apart.”

Kristoff closed his eyes, willing himself to keep it together. “It’s okay,” he managed to get out. “We’ll get better, right?”


	6. Chapter 6

Anna bit her lip as she stared down at the phone. She knew it ought to be reassuring, really, to read that many _ couples can’t conceive right away _ and  _ 80% of couples conceive after six months of trying _ .

It had only been three for them, but she was pretty sure they’d had plenty of what the article called  _ well-timed intercourse _ \-- or at least they had been whenever they saw each other, which was feeling less and less often these days, especially as they’d found more and more problems with the house and Kristoff had started working some odd jobs to afford a fix.

So did that mean they needed to wait longer before going to a doctor, or should they go  _ now _ , or should they have already gone and asked for advice?

She sighed and set the phone aside, burying her face in her hands. The person she wanted most to talk to about this was the last person she could tell; it’d kill him to know she was worrying so much over this, that maybe it was somehow his fault, and anyway they hadn’t  _ actually _ said they were trying yet, so--

Her phone buzzed.  _ Hey, baby :) How’s your day going? _

A weak smile slid onto her face.  _ all good here! love you <3 _

* * *

“Hello?” Anna said, holding the phone between her ear and shoulder as she switched from one page of their budget spreadsheet to the next.

“Hey!” came her sister’s voice. “Sorry, did I catch you at a bad time?”

“Nah, just doing some boring math stuff. What’s up?”

“I just wanted to ask you, um...if you don’t mind...I kinda need a favor.”

Anna frowned. “Sure, anything. What’s wrong.”

“It’s just…” Elsa sighed. “You know how Kristoff is...Kristoff?”

“Um...yes?”

“He’s being...very himself with interview candidates. We really want him to be on the committee, because he’s the one who’ll be working with whoever we end up hiring, but he’s...well, he keeps throwing out hardball questions, and he won’t smile, and just...could you talk to him?”

“Sure, sis,” Anna said, hoping her sister couldn’t hear the sudden strain in her voice. “No problem.”

* * *

All he wanted was to just hold her for a little bit and eat some fucking dinner, but the moment Anna pulled back from kissing him, she said, “My sister called. Can we talk?”

“I literally just got here, Anna,” Kristoff said irritably, running a hand through his hair. “Can this not wait until I’ve at least had something to eat?”

“No, because then we’ll just keep putting it off!” she snapped. 

He tossed his duffel bag onto the floor with a scowl. “Okay. Fine. I’m having a hard time at work.”

“Why? All you have to do is just-- just  _ talk _ to people--”

“You know I’m bad at that anyway, but--”

“And if we’re trying to pay to fix up this house--”

“I’m not  _ trying _ to get fired--”

“You need to just--”

“I  _ miss _ you, alright?” he said, his voice raised. “I fucking miss you, and it sucks.”

Anna’s chest was still heaving with anger. “Well,” she said, her voice cold, “could have fucking fooled me.”

He narrowed his eyes. “What the hell is that supposed to mean?”

“Seems to me,” she said, enunciating her words, “that you don’t enjoy being around me much these days, anyway.”

He had never been angry like this before, never felt the bile rising in the back of his throat and the heat burning in his chest, and before he’d even started to consider his words he said coldly, “Well, you’re sure as hell not making it easy.”   



	7. Chapter 7

Later that night, they sat on the sagging porch of the beach house together, staring out at the moonlit waves.

“I didn’t mean it, baby,” Kristoff whispered as Anna sighed and leaned her head against his shoulder.

“You did,” she said sadly. “And I needed to hear it.”

He swallowed hard. “I do want to be around you, though. All the time. That’s the problem, I-- it’s like you said before, we know how to be together, not apart.”

She reached over and set a hand over his where it rested on his thigh. “I can’t wait for this stupid house to be done,” she said softly. “I just...I want this to be over.”

He pressed a kiss into her hair. “Me, too.”

* * *

_ Come on, Anna, _ she thought fiercely as she replaced the box of tampons under the bathroom counter.  _ It’s only been four months. Stop stressing _ .

She winced when she saw her reflection in the mirror; her eyes were swollen, her cheeks all blotchy. She was splashing cold water on her face when a knock came at the door, sending a wave of panic through her chest. He wasn’t supposed to be here until--

“Anna?” Kristoff’s father called. “I came a little early. Hope that’s okay. Doing this kind of plumbing work can take a while, so I wanted to get a head start.

She squeezed her eyes shut as she called cheerily back, “Hey, Cliff!”

She should have known better than to try and pretend. The moment she came down the hall towards him, his forehead furrowed into a frown. “Hey, now, sweetheart,” he said, already opening his arms for a hug, “what’s all this about?”

A fresh wave of tears was already spilling over as she wrapped her arms around his sturdy waist and buried her face in his shoulder. “I guess I just thought this would all happen faster,” she choked out.

“Aw, honey,” he said softly, patting her back. “Houses like this just need a little extra TLC sometimes. It’ll be alright in the end, just need a bit of patience.”

She nodded against him, aching to tell him it wasn’t the leaky sink she was crying over, but if she couldn’t even bring herself to talk to Kristoff about it--

“Thanks, Cliff,” she said hoarsely. “I guess I just get overwhelmed sometimes.”

He chuckled softly. “Don’t we all?”

* * *

“Harry,” Kristoff said stiffly as he took a seat at the opposite end of the table.

Behind him, Elsa excused herself and shut the door to the meeting room. Harry folded his hands, his eyebrows pinching together. “Mr. Bjorgman.”

The fight drained out of him at that, replaced by fear; he’d always been just Kristoff to his boss, but now--

“You’ve been an exemplary employee the last few years,” Harry went on, “so I hate to be having this conversation at all. But the simple fact remains that your performance the past few months has suffered greatly, and your refusal to work with the hiring team has not gone unnoticed. Far from it, actually; we’ve received multiple complaints about your behavior.”

Kristoff’s hands tightened into a worried knot in his lap; he suddenly found himself wishing fervently that Anna was there to take hold of them, the way she always did when he was afraid. “Harry-- Mr. Westergaard--”

“We’re officially putting you on probation,” the other man said. “You’ve got a month to prove to us that you can get your act together. I like you, Bjorgman, I really do, and I know you’ve been having a hard time, but at the end of the day, this is a business.”

Kristoff could only manage a nod. 


	8. Chapter 8

Kristoff’s fingers tapped out an erratic rhythm against the side of his leg as the weather reporter droned on. _Hurricane Louisa is expected to make landfall on the Gulf Coast by eight PM tonight, our reporter is live on the scene with--_

His phone dinged, and he nearly dropped it trying to read the message. It was only Elsa, asking if Anna was there yet. _No_ , he typed back, _still waiting_.

God, it was _killing_ him, knowing she was making the drive in the torrential rain that accompanied the hurricane, that all he wanted was to _talk_ to her, to know that she was safe-- but she wouldn’t be with him distracting her like this, especially not when they had barely talked since she’d been up two days ago and had seen his copy of the paperwork he’d signed about what it meant to be on probation. The fight that he knew was brewing was unavoidable this time; not even a hurricane was going to be enough to hold this one off, so there was no point in him trying to, was there?

The moment he heard tires on the gravel, he bolted towards the front door, his heart pounding; he wanted to run to greet her the way he always did-- or the way he always used to, at least-- but instead he found himself frozen in the doorway as she came up the front sidewalk.

“Can I get past you?” she asked.

“What, no hello?” 

He’d only meant it to tease her, but even he winced at the resentment in his tone. Anna, facing away from him as she dropped her duffel bag on a stool by the counter, went still for a moment before turning agonizingly slowly to face him.

“How was work today?” she asked, her expression neutral. 

“Oh, it was just fucking _great_ ,” he said sarcastically. “Come on, Anna, just say what you mean.”

“You’re one to talk.”

“What’s that supposed to mean?”

“You know exactly what I mean.”

How had he gone so quickly from being terrified that she wasn’t going to make it home in time to being so angry his hands were curling up into fists. “Okay, well, we can fight about me being a shitty husband later,” he snapped. “Let’s talk about how I’m a shitty employee first.”

“When did I call you a shitty employee?”

“You didn’t need to! Harry might as well already have.”

She crossed her arms and moved closer to him, tilting her chin up to glare at him. “If you get fired, how the hell are we going to afford fixing up that fucking house?”

“I don’t know.”

“For that matter, how can we afford even living in _this_ one when you _know_ I’ve been--”

“I don’t _know,_ Anna,” he shouted. “I just don’t, alright?”

He regretted it immediately as she stared up at him, her eyes wide; he’d never raised his voice at her like that. Before he could apologize, though, she lifted her chin higher and said, her voice deadly quiet, “I thought getting fired was what you’re most afraid of.”

“Well,” he said, feeling his shoulders begin to sag, “I guess it’s not anymore.”

For a long moment there was no sound but the driving of the rain against the windows. Anna opened and closed her mouth, her arms falling beside her sides once more, and he began to reach for her, but a moment later there was a _pop_ as the power went out.

Anna let out a little gasp of surprise, and a moment later her fingers were curled into the front of his shirt. “It’s okay, baby,” Kristoff said, his arm automatically going around her shoulders. “Just-- we’ve got the emergency lantern under the sink, and let me get the flashlight on my phone and--”

“Kris?” she asked, her voice wobbly. 

“What, honey?”

“What _are_ you most afraid of?”

He swallowed hard as he pulled his phone out of his back pocket. “Anna...don’t make me say it.”

Kristoff flicked the flashlight on, illuminating the room and the shine of the tears streaming down her cheeks. “I’m so sorry,” she choked out as he immediately set the phone on the counter and cupped her face in his hands. “I’m so sorry about what I said. About _everything_ I said.”

“Me, too,” he breathed, his thumbs working as quickly as they could to brush away her tears. “I’m just-- I miss you so much, and work isn’t the same without you, and the _house_ \--”

“Oh, god, the _house_ , and this storm--”

A little whimper escaped her, and he lowered his arms to pull her in to a hug. “It’s okay, baby,” he said, trying to keep his voice steady as she trembled against him. “It’ll be okay.”

“What if it was all for nothing?” Anna sobbed.

His arms tightened around her. “I don’t know, baby.”

“I know I-- I know I said I wanted the hard part to be over, but I don’t want _all_ of it to be.”

 _Fuck_. 

“It won’t be,” he said, the roar of the wind nearly drowning out his words.

“Remember when we didn’t even know how to fight? Or how we used to be together all day and night and never got tired of each other?” she choked out, her fist tightening in the back of his shirt. “What happened to us?”

“I don’t know, but I-- _fuck_ , Anna, I miss you so much,” he said, feeling tears begin to burn in his own eyes. 

“I’m gonna do better,” she swore, leaning up on her toes to cup his face between her palms. “I’m gonna-- I’m gonna stop being so stubborn and stop keeping stuff to myself and--”

“Me too,” he said fiercely, leaning closer to press his forehead against hers. “I want to be the husband you deserve.”

“I don’t care about deserving,” she whispered, her thumbs stroking away the tears he hadn’t realized had started to fall. “I just want you. _All_ of you again.”

“I love you,” he said, tilting his head to close the gap between them and kiss her. “I love you, Anna, more than anything in the whole damn world.”

“You’re my favorite,” she murmured between fervent kisses, “favorite coworker, favorite best friend, favorite husband.”

She drew back then, a little smile appearing when he tried to chase her lips and opened his eyes with a frown. “Are we done fighting?”

“God, yes. For good this time.”


	9. Chapter 9

It wasn’t only the storm that kept them up all night. There were months to catch up on-- months of confessions and apologies and kisses that poured forth all at once as they sat together on the sofa in the dark.

“I’m just so sorry,” Anna said, her voice hoarse from crying. “It was hard enough being apart from you, and I just-- I just made it worse.”

Kristoff shifted her a little in his lap so he could kiss her forehead. “And I did, too. You weren’t wrong, I-- I should have talked to you more. It’s just...I don’t know. I didn’t want you to be disappointed in me.”

She shook her head. “No, I...god knows I would’ve had a hard time with it, too.”

“And I should have…” He let out a deep sigh. “I...could tell the other stuff was bothering you. About getting pregnant, but I...I just didn’t know what to say that would help.”

She was quiet for a moment, her fingers tracing absentminded patterns over his heart. “Maybe there isn’t anything to say that would help,” she said softly. “But if I had just talked to you about it, at least I wouldn’t have felt so alone.”

“I don’t ever want you to feel like that again. Not when I’m right here for you, no matter what.”

A weak smile appeared on her face as she leaned her head against his shoulder. “I’m here for you, too.”

Kristoff smiled in return, raising a hand to brush a strand of hair behind her ear. “And, for the record, I...I really want to have a baby, too. I want us to be  _ actually _ trying, but, Anna...if it doesn’t work out this way...I mean, shit, there’s things you can do-- and anyway, I’m adopted, so I...if it  _ doesn’t _ happen…”

He trailed off, unsure if that’d been the right thing to say, but a moment later when she shifted to straddle his lap and leaned down to kiss him, he knew it was good enough.

* * *

They hardly spoke the whole drive down to the coast, but Anna’s hand practically never left his. The going got slower as they drew nearer to the beach, enough that eventually she unbuckled her seat belt and slid over to rest her head against his shoulder.

“I checked the news on my phone,” she said, “and it said it wasn’t as bad as they thought. So maybe it’s just...maybe it’s fine.”

He turned and kissed the top of her head. “We’ll just wait and see.”

“If it’s not fine…” She trailed off. 

“Anna,” Kristoff said softly, “even if it’s not fine,  _ we _ will be, okay? We still have the other house, right? And, shit, with me dragging my heels your old spot still isn’t refilled…”

A laugh escaped her. “Can you imagine the rat bastard’s face if I waltzed back in?”

The mood grew darker again as they slowly pulled into the driveway; Anna heard Kristoff suck in a breath at the sight of one of the shutters hanging loose, and she reached down to squeeze his hand. “Like you said, honey,” she said softly. “Even if it’s not okay, we will be.”

They only let go of each other’s hands long enough to get out of the truck; when Kristoff’s fingers slid between hers again, he was holding on tightly enough it almost hurt, but she didn’t care.

The shutter they’d seen was loose; the sagging porch had a new hole in it, one of the upstairs windows had been left open enough that a bit of rain had gotten in-- but, they realized after an hour combing through the house, no serious damage had been done after all.

“I can’t believe it,” Anna murmured as she knelt down to examine the hole in the porch. “I-- seriously, I think this bit was about to give way anyway without the storm.”

“Guess this house is tougher than we thought, huh?” he asked with a smile.

She rose to stand beside him, wrapping her arms around his waist and leaning into his side. “Guess it is.”


	10. Chapter 10

“You,” Kristoff whispered, pressing a kiss to the top of his daughter’s velvety head, “are just like your mama. Nothing but trouble.”

“You’re telling me,” Anna cooed, leaning over the edge of the hospital bed to brush her fingers against a tiny fist. “Eight pounds, Bjorgman. I’ll never forgive you.”

He laughed softly at that. “So a second one is--”

“Oh, definitely on the table. I mean, this one is so cute, I really think we owe a repeat performance to the world, don’t you?”

* * *

Anna came to visit the office and brought Harper with her for Kristoff’s last day; he was secretly relieved that it meant most of the attention was taken off of him and had a feeling that that was exactly why she’d done it.

“Look at her!” one of Anna’s old friends-- Jessica, he was pretty sure, or maybe that one was Melissa-- cooed as Anna passed her the baby. “Oh my god, Kristoff, she has your hair.”

“And her mom’s nose, thank god,” he deadpanned.

Another one of them-- no, this one was _definitely_ Melissa, he recognized her from the meeting when they’d taken him off probation a week early-- said, “I’ll have to come down for a visit soon to see this beach house! How’d you manage to get it all fixed up by yourselves?”  
Anna glanced up at him then, a smile tugging at the corners of her lips. “Well, it turned out when we stopped stressing so much about making it happen as fast as it could...it all sort of came together.”

* * *

“Look, Harper,” Kristoff said, bouncing her slightly as he pointed at the seashells decorating the mantel they’d finally gotten painted the week before. “Those are from me and Mommy’s very first date. Aren’t they pretty?”

She blew a raspberry in response, and he laughed and kissed the top of her head. “I said the same thing at first. I kinda like them now, though.”

“What are you two up to?” Anna asked as she came down the hallway, pulling her hair into a ponytail.

“Just talking about how much we love you and how we promise not to throw our peas again.” 

Anna giggled and slipped her hand into the crook of his free arm. “You’re a bad liar.”

“But you love me anyway.”

They meandered slowly down the porch and towards the sand, Harper giggling and clapping her hands as they drew closer to the water. “It’s sort of funny, isn’t it?” Anna said thoughtfully. “How much she loves the ocean already.”

“How could she not? She’s our kid.”

She was quiet for a long moment, pausing just at the edge of the water, and Kristoff stood still beside her, admiring the way the sunlight glimmered on the waves. Then she sighed and leaned her cheek against his shoulder. “This feels sort of full circle, doesn’t it?”

He put his free arm around her. “Yeah. I guess it does.”

“Do you ever think sometimes about how happy you are that we found each other?”

“Every damn day.”

She propped her chin up on his shoulder; he looked down to see her smiling at him so contentedly he thought his heart might burst. “We’re lucky, I think.”

“Oh, I don’t think so.”

She quirked an eyebrow. “Really?”

“Not luck. Just lots of love, that’s all.”

“I love you,” Anna said softly, reaching down to squeeze his hand.

“I love you, too,” he replied, and squeezed back.


End file.
